Denisovan DNA Extracted From Large, “Weird” Teeth

TORONTO,
CANADA—Analysis of two molars from Siberia’s Denisova Cave by an
international team of scientists confirms that they belonged to two
adult male Denisovans who lived some 60,000 years apart. The earlier
individual lived up to 130,000 years ago, while the more recent one
lived between 50,000 and 70,000 years ago.

The teeth are larger than
those of Neanderthals and modern humans. “In its size, it’s comparable
to hominins that lived two or three million years ago…but the age of it
shows that it’s very recent,” Bence Viola of the University of Toronto
told CBC Canada.
“The whole group probably had very large and weird teeth.”

Denisovans
probably had large jaws to accommodate these teeth. And genetic evidence
indicates that a large, diverse population of Denisovans lived over
much of Asia for tens of thousands of years. There may even be excavated
fossils in China that have not been recognized as Denisovan yet.

“I’m
really convinced. The genetic data shows that these guys were spread
over large parts of Asia, so we must have them,” Viola said. To read
more, go to "Denisovan DNA."